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Help Center - Frequently Asked Questions

This list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) addresses typical questions about facilities and services at NCAR and UCAR. If you don't find an answer here, in the dropdown menus above, the links at the right, or by using our site search, please fill out our web form to email us.

Finding data

U.S. weather data for temperatures, winds, precipitation (rainfall/snowfall/hail), and other key measurements can usually be obtained from the office of the state climatologist in the region(s) you're interested in.

For the United States

See this website for visualizations of weather data for noncommerical use by researchers, aviators, and weather enthusiasts, produced by NCAR's Research Applications Laboratory. Please read the site disclaimer and enjoy exploring the data:

Observational records for global average temperatures, including surface data for the land and oceans, are available from NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS). You will find contact information for assistance at the bottom of the NASA GISS page:

Getting permission

We have thousands of images across hundreds of NCAR and UCAR websites, so permission will depend on where the visual you're interested in has come from. Here are some of our primary sources for images:

Digital Image Library The free UCAR DIL has over 2,000 images for nonprofit educational, research, and private use, as well as licensed commercial use. See the DIL Permission & Use FAQ.

News Releases / Visuals & Multimedia in the NewsFor images within our news releases and associated multimedia galleries, ownership and use terms are listed in the caption for each image. Wherever indicated, news media and nonprofit use is permitted with proper attribution and acceptance of UCAR's Terms of Use.

For requests to use our location

Password questions

Passwords for the UCAR Common Authentication System (UCAS), also known as Kerberos passwords, are provided to staff, visitors, and collaborators who meet specific requirements. Visitors and collaborators should discuss password needs with their staff host.